Scream is a franchise in free fall. After two successful quasi-reboot sequels and a plan to seemingly move away from the series’ roots, it looks like Paramount and Spyglass Media are bringing Neve Campbell back to Scream. The actor announced her return to the series on Tuesdaybut gave no further details about what the story is about Scream 7 would be.
After an incredibly successful 2022 reboot that brought in new franchise stars like Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, the franchise has suffered one misstep after another. The problems started in 2023, with the release of Scream VIwhich, while still a pretty big hit at the box office, received slightly more lukewarm reception than the previous entry.
For many fans, one of the most disappointing elements of the film was the sidelining of lead actor Sidney Prescott (Campbell), who had starred in every previous film. This time, the series’ other regular, Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), was forced to simply hand over Sidney’s absence in throwaway dialogue. However, it turns out that Campbell refused to make the film because she liked that the studio’s salary offer was too low, considering her importance and history with the franchise.
Image: Paramount Photos
Despite fans missing Sidney, when Paramount announced plans for Scream 7which would see the return of the main characters from the last two films, expectations and excitement were still high – not least because of the fantastic Christopher Landon (Happy dying day) was brought in to helm the new entry.
However, shortly after production, Spyglass unceremoniously fired the Barrera, the star of the previous two films, about her reporting on the Israel-Gaza conflict, which the studio deemed anti-Semitic. Shortly afterwards, Ortega also left the project. While scheduling differences were the only reason given, it seems very strange that the film wouldn’t be moved to accommodate one of the biggest stars in the world. Finally, Landon left shortly after Barrera’s shooting, leaving the project starless and directorless. At least until now.
Campbell announced her return to the series on Instagram on Tuesday, and the original film’s writer and creator, Kevin Williams, has announced that he will direct the new entry. Guy Busick, who co-wrote the previous two films, will handle the writing Scream 7. While so much of this feels like a reboot of the franchise, with two of the original leads returning to the franchise, it’s highly unclear what this new film could be about. Additionally, there’s no word on which cast members from the previous film might return.